Trump killed Oslo accords with al-Quds move: Mahmoud Abbas

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said that the US move to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital killed the Oslo Accords.

According to Channel 10 news on Saturday, Abbas made the remarks during a meeting with Israel’s Meretz political party leader Zehava Galon.

The Oslo Accords were signed between the Israeli regime and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) during the early-mid 1990s to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to guarantee the Palestinians’ right of self determination.

The Palestinian Authority (PA), which has limited governance over the occupied West Bank, was established following the Oslo Accords.

In December, US President Donald Trump announced that Washington would recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of Israel and would relocate the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the occupied city.

According to the report, Abbas was shocked by the decision, telling Galon that Trump had “promised a good deal to [resolve] the conflict, and then came this unfortunate surprise, which we cannot accept.”

“We are prepared for negotiations, and we never intended to leave the talks, but regrettably no one is offering us talks, especially not the Americans, who now wish to punish us,” he said.

Abbas also said that Washington can no longer play the role of mediator in peace talks after its al-Quds move.

“The Oslo Accords are dead, and even though Israel has not lived up to its obligations, we have so far not halted security cooperation. We are waiting to see if there can be negotiations under fair mediators,” Abbas said.

The US decision drew condemnation from world leaders and prompted Abbas to snub US Vice President Mike Pence during his recent trip to the occupied Palestinian territories by leaving the country.